Synergetics USA, Inc.
O’FALLON, Mo. (October 27, 2011) – Synergetics USA, Inc. (NASDAQ: SURG), a medical device company that designs, manufactures, and markets innovative devices for ophthalmic and neurosurgical applications, today announced two new ophthalmic products planned for the vitrectomy market. The new products were introduced at the 2011 Annual Meeting of the American Academy of Ophthalmology (AAO) held in Orlando on October 22 25, 2011. The Company also announced record sales leads generated from the showcasing of ophthalmic products.
“We featured two new products in our development pipeline for the vitrectomy market at the AAO meeting in Orlando that generated significant interest from ophthalmic surgeons,” stated Dave Hable, President and CEO of Synergetics USA, Inc. “We also generated record sales leads for our existing products, highlighting our increased visibility in the market for retinal devices and innovative products for ophthalmic applications.
“We introduced VersaVIT™ and UVE (Ultimate Vit Enhancer™) at this year’s AAO meeting. VersaVIT is our first product for the vitrectomy machine market and will extend our product line into this market segment that currently generates $150 million in annual sales. UVE is a high-speed vitrectomy enhancement system that is designed to boost significantly the cutting speed of the market’s leading vitrectomy machine.
“We believe VersaVIT represents a new concept in retinal surgery with its highly portable design, moderate price and ease of use. It features a complete system in an under-25 pound package that is capable of running on battery power and gas cartridges, further enhancing its portability. The small footprint of VersaVIT makes it ideally suited for ambulatory surgery centers, as a traveling unit for satellite offices and potentially for in-office procedures. We expect VersaVIT to be priced very competitively compared with existing vitrectomy machines, further expanding its market potential.
“We also previewed UVE, a high-speed vitrectomy cutter designed to work with the market leading vitrectomy machine,” continued Mr. Hable. “UVE significantly upgrades the cutting speed of the market leading vitrectomy machine to 8,000 cuts per minute, a jump from its cutting speed of 2,500 cuts per minute and also much faster than the latest generation of vitrectomy machines. We believe the higher cutting speed will allow retinal surgeons to make more precise and smoother cuts on the delicate retinal surface. We expect UVE to be priced at a fraction of the cost of the latest generation of high-speed vitrectomy machines while being able to utilize existing surgical packs for the market leading vitrectomy machine, including Synergetics’ VersaPACK™ that was introduced in January 2011.
“We are very excited about the significant increase in sales leads generated at this year’s AAO meeting on top of the record leads we received at last year’s meeting. We believe the increased interest in Synergetics’ products highlights the potential of VersaVIT and UVE and indicates that our new product development programs are on track and will an important part of building Synergetics’ sales in the future,” concluded Mr. Hable.
About Synergetics USA, Inc.
Through continuous improvement and development of our people, our mission is to design, manufacture and market innovative surgical devices, capital equipment, accessories and disposables of the highest quality in order to assist and enable surgeons who perform surgery around the world to provide a better quality of life for their patients.
Synergetics USA, Inc. (the “Company”) is a leading supplier of precision surgical devices. The Company’s primary focus is on the disciplines of ophthalmology and neurosurgery. Our distribution channels include a combination of direct and independent sales distribution organizations and important strategic alliances with market leaders. The Company’s product lines focus upon precision engineered, disposable and reusable devices, procedural kits and the delivery of various energy modalities for the performance of less invasive surgery including: (i) laser energy, (ii) ultrasonic energy, (iii) radio frequency energy for electrosurgery and lesion generation and (iv) visible light energy for illumination, and where applicable, simultaneous infusion (irrigation) of fluids into the operative field. The Company’s website address is http://www.synergeticsusa.com.
Forward-Looking Statements
Some statements in this release may be “forward-looking statements” for the purposes of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. In some cases forward-looking statements can be identified by words such as “believe,” “expect,” “anticipate,” “plan,” “potential,” “continue” or similar expressions. Such forward-looking statements include risks and uncertainties, and there are important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. These factors, risks and uncertainties are discussed in the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended July 31, 2011, as updated from time to time in our filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The Company is not responsible for updating the information contained in this press release beyond the published date, or for changes made to this document by wire services or Internet services.
VersaVIT™, UVE™ and VersaPACK™ are trademarks of Synergetics USA, Inc.
Vit EnhancerTM is a trademark of Medical Instruments Development Laboratories, Inc.